While you're at it, don't overestimate their
rebelliousness. Although teenagers are generally expected to go a
little James Dean on their parents--their younger counterparts
rarely opt for such adversity. "It's a conformative
time," says Acuff. "[Preteens] conform to peer pressure,
trends, apparel tastes and so forth because they're anxious to
be accepted. They're moving away from the need to be loved
solely by their parents to the need to be loved and accepted by
their peers. It puts a lot of pressure on them."
Without question, this gives businesses a tricky balance to
strike as well. On the one hand, tweens, especially of the
modern-day variety, are grown up enough to scoff at the likes of
Mickey Mouse and his cartoon pals. On the other hand, this is still
an age of innocence.
"There's a gray area," acknowledges Dennis, whose
Ch!ckaboom stores feature nail polish bars but refrain from selling
makeup. "I'm a parent, and I don't want [preteens] to
look like teenagers. This isn't about loss of innocence;
it's about having fun."
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"When you think back to when you were 12 years old, that
was the last time in your life when you weren't really trying
to impress [the opposite sex] that much," agrees Bokram.
"You're just happily plodding along, thinking about what
you're going to do with your life. There's a feeling of
optimism and [the idea that] the world is laid out before
you."
Ironically, this generation of tweens may only be matched in
their optimism by their parents--the we-can-change-the-world baby
boomers. "They haven't really lived through bad
times," says Dennis of pre-millennium tweens. "That's
really molded them. There's an optimism and confidence [about
them] that I see."
So who says history never repeats itself?